1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of aligning an optical waveguide device with an optical fiber block, and more particularly, to an apparatus for aligning an optical waveguide device with an optical fiber block using internal and external bending waveguides included in the optical waveguide device, and a method of bonding the optical waveguide device to the optical fiber block.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical device and an optical fiber must be aligned and bonded to each other in order for an optical waveguide device chip to be used in an optical network.
An earlier apparatus for aligning an optical waveguide device with optical fiber blocks includes an input optical fiber block on which an optical fiber is mounted, an optical waveguide device having an input optical waveguide and an output optical waveguide, and an output optical fiber block on which optical fibers are mounted. In the alignment and bonding according to such a configuration, first, light is incident upon the optical fiber on the input optical fiber block, and the optical fiber is aligned with the input waveguide of the optical waveguide device. Then; the output waveguide of the optical waveguide device is aligned with the optical fibers on the output optical fiber block, such that light is guided. The intensity of light output through the two outermost ports in the optical fibers is detected. The positions of the input and output optical fiber blocks and the optical waveguide device are finely adjusted in order to detect the maximum intensity of the output light. After the positions are determined, the input and output optical fiber blocks and the optical waveguide device are bonded to one another by the epoxy.
However, an optical waveguide device such as an optical wavelength multiplexer has wavelength characteristics, such that an optimal position satisfying both the fine-tuned alignment and wavelength characteristics must be determined to align and bond such an optical waveguide device to optical fiber blocks.
Since this optical waveguide device can have different wavelength characteristics for each manufactured chip, accurate wavelength characteristics must be recognized before alignment and bonding are performed. Accordingly, many complicated apparatuses, such as a plurality of optical sources, are required.